The giants of India's 'muscle village' follow clean, green diets

Vegetables, no supplements, and daily rigorous exercise has created the strongest village.

For four hours each day, some 40 men of the rural village Asola-Fatehpur Beri in India carry forward a tradition of exercise, good health and discipline. It's a lifestyle that has gained the village recognition as not only the strongest in the country. That reputation has also created an unusual opportunity: steady work for the men as bouncers in New Delhi.

"As they say health is wealth. We are healthy but we're also earning good money, able to send kids to good schools, eat well — what else does one need in life?" head-trainer Vijay Tanwar told CNN.

The men — most sporting a simple, traditional loincloth — gather each day in Akhada, a training spot in the village that serves as an arena and exercise course. Unlike traditional gyms, this outdoor space features motorbike and tractor lifting, wrestling and yoga.

"There are few modern gyms in the village, but most men prefer the traditional style of working out," Tanwar added. "It makes your body flexible and the risk of injury is less as well."

In sharp contrast to other gyms throughout the world where supplements are routine, the men at Asola-Fatehpur Beri instead take great pride in following clean, green diets. That means no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, and no supplements. In fact, a majority of the men follow diets that include lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, yogurts and milk.

So successful is the town's exercise regimen, that some 90 percent of the 3,500 men in the village are employed as either security guards or bouncers in nearby New Delhi.

"They eat healthy and on time, they practice here everyday, and that's why they are so strong," said Tanwar.